That’s how friends describe Dereck Szaflarski, a London man who died early Saturday after he was injured in a fight on Richmond Row while celebrating his 27th birthday.

“He was a very, very loving person,” said Breana Bielak, a close friend who started an online fundraiser for Szaflarski’s family. “He was always wanting to make everyone happy and make sure everyone’s having a good time.”

And the people who loved him want Szaflarski to be remembered as more than just a statistic.

Dereck Szaflarski and friend Breana Bielak. (Submitted)

He was a jokester – “the life of the party” – and friends agreed there was just something about Szaflarski that drew others to him.

“You couldn’t walk away,” Bielak said.

On Saturday at 2:30 a.m., just a few hours after his birthday, police were called to a “physical altercation” on Richmond Street at Piccadilly Street. Szaflarski got into a fight with another man – his friends say he was stabbed – and the confrontation left him with serious injuries.

Szaflarski was taken to hospital where he died.

The suspect, described as a dark-skinned man with a heavy build, jumped into a white car – believed to be a two-door Nissan Altima – before police arrived. Police say the suspect is six feet or taller, may have facial hair, and was wearing blue jeans, a dark T-shirt, black running shoes with white soles, and a camo-patterned Toronto Blue Jays baseball cap.

Grainy surveillance photos of both the suspect and the vehicle were released. Anyone with information is asked to call London police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

London Police want to speak with this man in connection with a homicide investigation on Richmond Street. (Submitted)

Chase McAllister, a friend of Szaflarski’s since childhood, said a group is planning to lobby city council for increased police funding in hopes of beefing up police presence along Richmond.

They believe it may have helped Szaflarski.

“We’re really trying to put this in a positive light and make a difference,” McAllister said. “I just want people to know he was an actual person. Not just a statistic.”

Det. Sgt. Alex Krygsman, head of the major crimes unit, said police were making progress on the investigation. It is London’s third homicide of the year.

“We’re early in our investigation right now. We’re making progress on it, but I’m not prepared to speak to the progress or the evidence that we have so far,” he said.

“We would ask the public to come forward with any information that they can provide to us so that we can move this investigation along and bring it to a resolution.”

A wide swath of the intersection at Richmond and Piccadilly streets was cordoned off by police tape on Saturday as investigators photographed and swabbed evidence, including a pool of blood surrounded by gauze wrappers and medical debris. Across the street, a Blue Jays baseball cap lay on the sidewalk in front of a smashed store window.

A forensic investigator takes photographs of the scene at Richmond and Piccadilly streets, where a man was killed early Saturday morning. It is London’s third homicide of 2018. (MEGAN STACEY/The London Free Press)

Bielak and her mom set up a wooden cross on the grass near the intersection with a can of Szaflarski’s favourite beer. But Bielak said Szaflarski would have no patience for their grief.

“He would be hitting us for sitting here crying and moping and not celebrating who he is,” she said with a smile.

Originally from Michigan, Szaflarski went to high school in Chatham before moving to London. He adopted a network of friends that became like family.

“He’s the kind of person who would stand up for you, even if you were in the wrong. He would be there no matter what,” McAllister said.

He was out with Szaflarski on Friday to celebrate his big day.

“We just hung out at Barney’s in the sun. He just wanted to be in the sun with the boys, that’s all he wanted,” McAllister said through tears.

A social butterfly who loved making people laugh, the fitness-loving Szaflarski recently started working as a personal trainer at GoodLife on Southdale Road.

“He struggled a lot in life, but he was passionate about working out and making other people healthier and stronger. He was happy doing what he was doing,” Bielak said.

Friends of Dereck Szaflarski set up this memorial cross (and his favourite beverage) at Richmond and Piccadilly yesterday afternoon. Szaflarski, 27, was out celebrating his birthday when he was killed. His friends tell me Szaflarski was a social butterfly. #LdnOntpic.twitter.com/Zxdzw8ArTX

He loved riding his bike, working out, sitting in the sun, and Star Wars, friends said. Bielak and Szaflarski got matching lightsaber tattoos for her birthday last year. She intends to add her friend’s initials to her arm. ======= He loved riding his bike, working out, sitting in the sun, and Star Wars. Bielak and Szaflarski got matching lightsabre tattoos for her birthday last year. She intends to add her friend’s initials to her arm.

Szaflarski’s friendships – old and new – were a top priority.

“He was always extremely, extremely nice and friendly. If I’d be having a bad day . . . he’d try to cheer me up, joke around,” said friend Michael Choi.

Bielak and another former roommate recalled how helpful Szaflarski was around home, always willing to offer his handyman or moving skills.

He never stopped talking – “He’d chew your ear off,” Bielak said – and comedy was a specialty, especially songs that Szaflarski would sing with his own unique lyrics.

Szaflarski and Bielak, both Star Wars fans, got matching lightsaber tattoos. Bielak posted this photo on social media with the caption “No matter the distance we’ll always have the Force.” (Submitted)

The pair teased each other mercilessly, and Bielak said she’d threaten Szaflarski with the jokes she planned to tell at his wedding. Bielak was emotional as she spoke about his loss.

“Instead of talking about speaking at his wedding, I’ll be speaking at his funeral. This isn’t something I thought I’d have to do so soon.”

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